In the official kickoff to his general election campaign, the Republican nominee said from Liberty State Park in northern New Jersey, “Today, a president of the United States would have us believe [the American] dream is over, or at least in need of change.”

“[President Carter] tries to tell us we are in a recession, not a depression, as if words will relieve our suffering,” he said.

“If it’s a definition he wants, I’ll give him one. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when is when Jimmy Carter loses his,” the presidential candidate stated, which caused the crowd to erupt in loud and sustained cheers, with chants of “We want Reagan..We want Reagan…”

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Reagan’s first inaugural address set the tone for his entire administration. He proclaimed the nation faced grave economic challenges — high unemployment, double-digit inflation and double digit interest rates —“In this present crisis, government is not solution to the problem, it is the problem.”

Click the “Next” button below to watch Reagan deliver perhaps the most memorable line of his presidency.